Out on the Sands

Out on the sands we walked--three friends--
To watch the sea-gulls dipping low,
While gently murmuring at our feet
The waters rippled to and fro;
And merrily and happily
We watched the white waves come and go.

But one of us was very fair;
Alas! I knew it was not I.
My heart sank low, but I was brave
To watch his face when she was by,
Where all too well, with tender spell,
Love wrote its own tale silently.

And so at last I left them there,
And all unheeded came away,
And from our gay companions hid
The lesson I had learned that day.
My dream was o'er, with Love no more
I watched the rippling waters play.